Contemplating your photo career to date

            I have learned that the studio setting is the best for me. I like to arrange set elements and set up the photo session. I have also learned that I would like to experiment with manipulating image in the darkroom and that I enjoy making prints in the darkroom over using the computer. Architecture is my enemy, it is so boring to me and I would like to avoid this in my photography career. I am fine with being an assistant, assistant work is less pressure and you still have the ability to suggest creative ideas to the photographer. I hope in my photo career I am happy.

Indeed exercise

 I have found after searching for photography job at indeed.com that I am insecure about my skills and what I can handle. Reading the job descriptions I kept telling myself that this could be too much for me to handle or I just simple can’t do it. I want to start out as an assistant, I do not want to own my own business. Working as an assistant would give me the opportunity to observe how the work environment is like and what all it takes to be a leader. Many of the job descriptions mention “must work in a fast paced environment”, for some reason this makes me feel like work would be chaotic and I wouldn’t be able to keep up. Maybe I need to gain more confidence or start believing in myself, because most of the job requirements made me feel like I have no chance at ever finding a job. I found a few job that didn’t have too much demand in the job descriptions. I think the reason why I liked the ones I found was because they were for assistant work and I felt secure that I could potentially do this job without falling behind and costing the business precious time.

What kind of photographer are you?

According to the “what kind of photographer you are” quiz, I am a commercial photographer. I would agree with the description, “You like to work with other people. You are meticulous about your work and like to control all aspects of the shoot. You like to please the client by making their products look as best as they can be.” It does describe me and how I like to work. I like to work in groups, I feel less pressured and things run much more smoothly. Working with objects is much easier than working with people. Don’t get me wrong I do like shooting fashion photography or dramatic portraits, but objects stay still. Studio class was one of my favorite photography classes that I enjoyed. I could see myself being a commercial photographer in the future.

Consumer publications

To sell your work in consumer publications, magazines are the easiest market. Researching your market is important to selling photography. As suggested it is essential to do your “homework” on where you are submitting your images to. You need to know what needs to be done to have what is appropriate for the publication.

As mentioned most submissions require a cover letter. To know what kind of letter to send you must know determine what kind of work you are selling. The letter should include publications credits, samples of your work, and other relevant information about yourself.

Book Publishers

            Photography in the book publishing world is diverse. For book publishing the publishers may buy individual images or groups of photos. This particular job requires freelance photographers to be flexible in their pay rates. Themes are typically what publishers are looking for. Including a brief letter describing your project and sample images is a great way to show publisher your work. If the publisher is interested they may ask for more information depending on the complexity of the project. Photo books are expensive and may have a limited market.

Stock photo agencies

The stock agency is extremely competitive. Figuring out how they work is a great way to get ahead. Photos are licensed and the company extracts roughly around fifty percent commission from each use of the image. Before diving into the stock agency market you must have a solid base of quality images fifty through on hundred and must be prepared to supply new images on a regular basis. Smaller agencies are the best to go after since they are looking for ways to build up their image files. You must keep in mind how a stock agency is going to market you work to attract buyers. Retaining the rights to your work will provide an income even you’ve moved away stock agency work. 

Time management – Kevin Kubota video

Time management for photographers is important, especially when it is easy to get distracted with life and facebook. According to Keven Kubota “the golden hour” is the time when “you’re the most active and creative”.  The golden hours should be used wisely and not wasted on goofing off with stuff that doesn’t require much planning or thinking.  The brain can be very forgetful, writing everything down is a great idea. Artists in general master in the art of procrastination, at least from what I have witnessed in my life time.

 As described in the video Kevin mentions that multitasking is not very productive. He advises that there should be scheduled hours of when to check e-mail or social media sites not during “the golden hours”. Being focused is very important to getting things done, because distractions are the enemy of the artists’ world. I like the idea of tackling projects in “smaller batches”. It sounds less overwhelming than looking at what all needs to be done. Tackling the projects in smaller bits would make it easier to focus on what needs to be done. Breaks are a good idea. As mentioned in the video, no one can work 5 hours straight without any breaks. Mental exhaustion is not fun and reduces productivity and drains energy.  Time management is important to learn and something worthwhile in the long run.